Zim zam God damn she's bloody SOE
by TheGingerHairedCritic
Summary: A woman of shadows joins Easy Company in Normandy during D-day. Her new job, advise the 506 in all matters of intelligence. And so, she starts a journey across Europe. But can she leave her past behind her, or will it stop her living her life? Speirs/OC.
1. Chapter 1

**Zim zam God damn she's bloody SOE**

**Chapter 1: Prologue**

The rain had eased off during the evening. Now, in the early hours of the morning, a tranquil atmosphere had settled over the Normandy countryside. There were breaks in the cloud and if you squinted, you could see stars. But it was not stars that one solitary figure looked out for in the night sky. This person knew that the calm that had descended would not last long. It was like the whole of France was holding its breath. The calm before the storm. The silence, before death.

Shouldering a rifle and checking their pockets for spare ammunition, the figure quickly moved on. Ears straining to hear any foreign sound. Minutes passed, and still, the figure trudged on.

But wait? What was that? Sharp ears picked up a low droning sound coming from the coast, then the loud cracking of anti-aircraft fire. Suddenly, a whole squadron of C-47s burst though the cloud cover and the sky was illuminated with enemy fire. A few planes were hit, some careered out of formation and hurtled to the ground. The figure could feel the heat of the crashed aeroplane, but did not go to help. There was nothing that could be done.

The paratroopers commenced their jump. Soon the sky was filled with white parachutes and the soldiers dangling from them.

"And so it begins." The figure muttered to themselves. Tracer rounds and exploding shells lit up the sky above, the figure was illuminated for a few brief seconds, and, if you looked, you would have seen a medium height female, with short, dark brown hair, dressed in practical clothing. The planes of her face were exaggerated by shadow and her pale blue eyes seemed to shine out of the gloom. But no one was looking, she made sure of that. And if someone had seen her, they would be dead before they even registered her existence.

The woman sighed and continued her trek toward the men falling out of the sky.


	2. Chapter 2

**Zim zam God damn she's bloody SOE**

**Chapter 2: Flash. Thunder**

_**Normandy, 6th June 1944. Some time in the small hours.**_

Richard Winters was glad that he had finally found some members of Easy company. It felt good to know that at least some of the men that he had trained with back in Toccoa were still alive and kicking, even if one of them was a disgruntled Guarnere. They were making they're way down along a train line to find a road that would lead them to their meet point. All of the men were tense and alert, they knew that at any time they could come across the enemy. And he who is slowest, is the one who gets killed.

Although, unbeknownst to the men walking along the train line, someone was watching them. She heard their short conversation and felt a sense of relief wash over her as she heard her native language spoken after such a long time. One of the men at the head of the group must have sensed her presence because he stopped the rest of the men behind him and called out in a low whisper;

"Flash!"

Quickly remembering the codeword she had been told to use by London over the radio a few days prior, the figure in the hedgerow replied;

"Thunder!" She then stepped out from the gloom and walked towards the waiting soldiers.

"Good evening gentlemen." She said, slightly slipping over her words due to not speaking English for so long. "Welcome to France. I hope you had a pleasant trip." She grinned at their stunned faces.

The men in front of her looked at each other in bewilderment. One exclaimed in a brusque south Philadelphia accent;

"What the hell is an English broad doin' in Goddamned France!" He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

The mystery woman was quick to respond. "I have been in France since 1941, Mr ...?"

"Gaurnere. Sargeant Bill Gaurnere." He was still incredulous.

"I assume that you are with some sort of intelligence organisation." Winters said as he stepped forward. He did not want the situation to get out of hand.

The woman turned to the where the new voice came from, and inwardly thanked God that there was at least one competent American in Normandy.

"You assume correctly." She held out her hand. "Mary Cooper."

"Lieutenant Richard Winters. Easy Company, Second Battalion of the 506. 101 Airborne Division."

Once they had commenced with formalities, Mary told them her role in the invasion.

"London has told me that I am to advise and assist the second battalion of the 506 with any intelligence matters. I was on my way the their meet point but since you are headed in the same direction as me, I shall show you the way."

And with that they set off. A young trooper, a soldier by the name of Hall as Mary had found out, called for them to stop once more. They all stilled to a halt and crouched low to the ground. Winters made his way forwards and looked over the railings of the railway bridge on to the road below.

Sure enough, only a few moments later, the sound of German voices and a horse and cart could be heard approaching. Winters quickly ran back and directed his men to the hedgerow by the road on the other side of the bridge.

The Germans came nearer and the Americans were ready in their positions. Mary was standing behind Winters and waited for his command. The Germans came into view. But before the Lieutenant could call his men, Guarnere sprung up and started shooting as though he was a man possessed. The rest of the men followed suit and commenced the attack, a grenade was thrown and Winters was looking a bit peeved. Stuck between the walls under the bridge, the German soldiers stood no chance, it was over within minutes. Winters went over to reprimand his sergeant as Mary shot the last remaining horse. She wanted to put the poor thing out of its misery.

She watched as Winters and Guarnere stared each other down, the latter relented. Winters was handed a German rifle to replace the one he lost on the jump, and then his little troupe went on their way.

Mary went over to Winters. "Lieutenant, we just made quite a lot of noise back there." She looked pointedly at Guarnere. "I suggest that we take the cross country route to the meet point, that way we have less of a chance of coming across any jerry soldiers on our travels."

"Lead the way." He replied

And so they walked off into the night, nothing to show of their passing, but a cart load of dead German soldiers.

Daylight came upon them as Mary led her group of Americans through the flooded fields. Guarnere was still complaining about Winters. She heard the odd "fuckin' quaker" and "don't even drink" float up from behind her, but didn't act on it. It seemed as though this sergeant had more against the Germans that the regular American soldier. She just hoped that the next time he got angry, that he wouldn't get himself, or any of the other men, killed.

It was mid morning by the time they got to a few burnt out farm buildings. A few dead cattle were scattered in the field and a car was still burning. Bodies littered the ground, motionless. But the most disturbing site of all was the lifeless body of an American paratrooper dangling from a tree by his parachute. The group stopped and surveyed the grisly scene, then commenced stripping the bodies of any ammunition and rations that could be found. One soldier lagged behind, obviously affected by the sight before him. Lipton looked up from the dead paratrooper that he was stripping of supplies.

"Mcdowell! Are you okay?" The sergeant could see the fear in the young troopers' eyes.

"Yes sergeant." The young man replied.

"Well lets go."

Lipton felt sorry for him. It was probably his first time away from the U.S, and he had lost the rest of his unit. Hell! They weren't even with the rest of their Division!

As if to break the sombre mood, Malarkey ran up to a fallen German soldier and proclaimed;

"Hey! I promised my kid brother that I would fetch him back a Luger, so I got first dibs, okay?" He motioned to the other German lying to his left. "Check that one."

As the men quickly searched through the various corpses, Mary just stood back and watched, marvelling at how they could stand so resolute and calm in the face of death. She remembered the first time she had seen something lying dead and lifeless. It was the first time she went on a bird shoot with her grandfather and some family friends. She was only eleven years old at the time and the sight of a dead grouse dangling from the jaws of one of the dogs had made her want to throw up. She didn't have a full nights sleep for weeks after that.

Mary was broken from her reverie by the sound of shells whistling through the air and exploding somewhere inland.

This noise was quickly met with a flurry of movement. The Americans had been reminded of the invasion and were eager to get moving and get organised.

"Its the Navy."

"The landings have started. Lets go."

"Lets move it out." Lipton commanded.

Hall looked at his watch. "Right on time."

Gaurnere looked up at the Able company man in annoyance. "Oh yeah? Well tell that to him cowboy!" He looked down at his fallen comrade. That was someone's son, someone's brother or boyfriend. It reminded him of his loss. How had his brother died? Was he alone? Or among his fellow soldiers?

"My name is Hall." Hall was too aggravated and too tired to deal with this.

"Is that so?"

Mary had picked up her rifle and moved over to the men. "Lets break it up ladies. Save that for the Germans. You are allowed to kill them. We should move out." She nodded at Winters who gave her an encouraging smile. As they left the farm buildings behind she heard Malarkey explain to Hall the reason why Gaurnere was so very pissed off.

"His brother got it at Casino." Malarkey stated.

Finally Mary understood. She knew the pain of losing someone close. She also knew that the pain would consume and destroy you if you did not let it out. She knew that all too well.

Mary turned round and offered him a reassuring look. Gaurnere seemed a bit put out but did not comment.

It was nearing midday when they finally made their way to the farmhouse where second battalion had set up temporary residence. It had involved a long trek over open countryside and asking directions from a local peasant who was on his way to make sure his property was secure.

As they walked down the muddy track that led to the house, they passed a group of German prisoners who were digging a hole. They looked depressed and dejected. But also relieved. The war was over for them, they would not have to be called into combat and lay down their lives for their country. They were not free men, but they were free of the burden of death.

Malarkey started goading them and he quickly fell behind. He still had not caught up with the rest of the men when they neared the farmhouse. A line of dead horses blocked the roadway and their blood had stained the earth a deep brown red colour. Chains were being laid round them and a tractor was waiting to attempt to pull them away.

A few other men from Easy company were sitting on a patch of grass and most of the men went to join them. Mary followed Winters as he made his way to a tall blonde man standing away from the group.

Dick was smiling. "Buck. Good to see you." he turned to Mary to introduce them. "This is Mary Cooper, intelligence officer for the British. She will be helping the 506 for the majority of the invasion. Miss Cooper, this is Lieutenant Compton. He is a fellow officer with me in Easy company"

"You can call me Buck."

"What's the hold up?" Winters addressed Buck.

"Not sure." Heavy firing was heard in the distance. "But five'll get you ten its got something to do with that."

"There is a heavy gun placement not too far from here. A group of '88s" Mary was happy that she knew at least one thing that would help the Americans. "From their position, they are probably able to fire on the landing beaches."

"Do you know their exact location?" Winters asked.

"Yes, I've got to know the Carantan peninsula quite well."

Buck obviously had further questions, but Winters was keen to know how many of Easy company had made it.

"What is the situation?"

"Not good, nearly twenty percent of the men are still unaccounted for."

"And Lieutenant Meehan?"

"Nobody has seen him, or anyone from his plane. You know, if he is missing, wouldn't that put you in line to be the next commander of Easy?"

Winters looked at Buck in surprise, the thought hadn't really occurred to him. It hadn't crossed his mind that his company might lose its leader so early. He was didn't want to acknowledge that fact yet.

Quickly looking round, he noticed a platoon commander from Dog company. "Hey Lieutenant Spiers."

Mary quickly turned round to meet the new arrival. He was of average height. Muscular build with broad shoulders. His helmet was pulled low over his brow so you couldn't see above his eyebrows. His dark eyes seemed to glint out from under the brim and he fixed Mary with a stare so direct, it felt as though he could see into her soul. Winter must have caught the look that Speirs gave her so he quickly introduced them. Speirs nodded in acknowledgement and said no more on the subject. If he was confused as to why a woman was in the middle of a war zone, he did not show it.

"How many men of Dog company are assembled?" Mary found it extraordinary that Winters was able to go from talking pleasantries with one man to talking about such serious matters in the space of seconds.

Speirs shrugged and said "A handful. Maybe twenty."

"You are the only officer that made it?"

Unlike Winters, Speirs seemed to be quite nonchalant about the loss of so many officers in his company. "So far." It was blunt and to the point. "Still waiting for orders." He turned to Buck. "Have you got some cigarettes?"

Buck handed him a pack and Speirs walked off with the whole lot.

"Hey! Keep the pack." Buck shouted half heartedly.

Mary felt a bit useless standing in the middle of a farm yard watching so much drama fold out before her. "I'm going to report to Major Strayer, I'll see you later."

As she made her way to the farm house, a few of the men of Easy company watched her.

"So your saying she just jumped out of the bushes and said "welcome to France?" Goddamn! The English are fuckin' nuts!" Leibgott was completely astounded. "Shit."

"Yeah, and she called me a lady." Guarnere piped up.

"Well, you were being a dumb ass. Arguing with Hall like that." Joe Toye added to the argument whilst leisurely lying back on the grass.

"Ah, shut it Joe."

Meanwhile, Mary had found her way to Major Strayer.

"So you are saying that there are at least two working guns up there?"

"It has been three months since I last did a reconnaissance on the area, but members of the resistance did notice trucks laden with two '88s heading toward that area about three weeks ago."

"How many men on each gun?"

"Between five and eight, depending on troop movement. There is also two machine gun placements defending the rear of the '88s. But there is a trench linking up all the guns which can provide good cover."

"What are you suggesting?"

"That we send a small task force of no more than twenty men to sabotage as many guns as possible. According to your maps, these guns are shooting at your soldiers coming up from Utah beach. The sooner these guns stop working, the sooner you can get supplied and go on to take your objective."

"Problem is, we are still missing men."

"Some men from Easy company have just come in. They seemed to have amassed the quickest."

Strayer nodded his consent and called to a soldier behind him. "Get me Easy company's CO here right away."

The soldier saluted and ran off, calling for Easy company.

It did not take long for Lieutenant Winters to show up. Mary smiled at him and then turned to look at the map. Strayer quickly filled Winters in on the details.

"Miss Cooper here is going to be accompanying you, and helping with the assault. Is everything clear?"

"Yes sir."

Winters quickly assembled his men and told them of the attack. He went over the plan. The men seemed to stare back at him with a resoluteness that impressed Mary. Even though they had no idea how many Germans they would be up against, they were still determined to fight.

Winters carried on. "We'll take some TNT with us to spike the guns." He turned to Lipton. "That's your responsibility." The sergeant nodded. "Yes sir."

Lieutenant Winters split the men up into groups of attack. "Mary, I want you up front with me." he said after addressing his men.

"Try not to worry about me Lieutenant, I can look after myself. Keep an eye on your own men." Mary wanted Winters to have his full attention on the task at hand, not keeping tabs on her. She did not want to cause any more deaths than necessary.

As they made to move out of the farm yard, a young soldier turned up asking if he could join the assault. It turned out that he was Colonel Sink's driver.

"Great." Mary thought. "Another young man wanting to get killed for his country."

Winters asked him his name and told the trooper to follow him.

Mary led them through the walled gardens. The noise of the guns growing steadily louder as they got closer. She crawled into an abandoned car and pointed toward the first gun. Winters followed her and spied the connecting trench. They ran toward the rest of the men. Winters ordered the gunners to set up. Buck joined Mary and Winters as they looked through the hedgerow toward the MG42s. He quickly ordered Buck to take them from the left and for him and Mary to go from the right by the abandoned car. Winters ran over to Lipton and told him to give covering fire by the trees. The men got into position. And the attack commenced.

* * *

><p><strong>Here is the first proper chapter. Hope you liked it. Another one should be on its way soon. Next time, A Jaunt in Brecourt. <strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Zim zam God damn she's bloody SOE**

**Chapter 3: A jaunt in Brecourt. **

_... And the attack commenced._

The machine gunners started firing and so did the rest of the men. Mary crouched in front of Winters and started putting her stolen rifle to good use. Meanwhile Buck and his troupe manoeuvred round the side, whilst the Germans were dealing with what they thought was the main attack. Grenades were thrown and the German machine gun was soon silenced.

Winters called his men and started running over the small field toward the trench opposite. Mary sprinted and threw herself into the trench. Behind her she heard a cry of pain and realised that one of the men had been hit. She stood up and started shooting at the retreating German solddiers. The Jeep driver who had been so keen to fight couldn't, as it turned out, hit a damn thing. Even over the sounds of battle, Mary could hear Guarnere rip into him.

Popeye kept on apologising for "screwin' up" as Joe Toye went to help him. The call of "Grenade!" was sent up and we all rolled out of its way. Except for Toye, who couldn't go anywhere and had no other choice but to fling himself over Popeye. Miraculously, both men escaped unharmed, a point Guarnere was quick to point out.

"You're one lucky bastard Joe!" He shouted.

Mary afforded herself a little grin before moving along the trench, following Winters. He looked around the corner and saw two Germans readying a machine gun.

He yelled at her "Do you think you can take them? I need to go check on Popeye!"

She nodded. The two Germans were quickly dispatched. It wasn't the first time she had killed, it certainly wasn't, and feeling any remorse would compromise her. So she suppressed it. Trying not to dwell on the fact that she had killed two human beings. And she would do the same to many more before this was over.

Mary went back to Winters just as he and Buck were helping Popeye out of the trench. Winters turned to her;

"Follow me."

It felt good for Mary to be following orders instead of giving them.

But before they could get going, Buck dropped a primed grenade and they all jumped out of the trench as fast as they could. But Toye wasn't having a good day, because once again, he was close to the explosion and was covered in flying mud.

"Jesus Christ, that was fucking twice!"

They moved along the trench and took the second gun. All the Germans were killed apart from one who has his hands up and was saying;

"_Nicht __schießen, __Nicht __schießen! _No make dead. _Nicht ..." _

But he was cut off when Joe Toye decided to end the conversation by knocking him out. Mary was impressed.

"You have a good right hook" She commented "But the knuckledusters could be considered as cheating." She said with a smile.

Toye just grinned and said "It's nice to find someone who truly appreciates my work."

They had taken two guns, but were still no closer to completing their objective, sabotaging them. So Winters went off to find Sargent Lipton whilst Mary and Toye covered for him.

She carried on firing until she saw something very strange. One of the men back at the first gun had run out toward some of the dead Germans. He was now lying next to one of them pinned down by the enemy's fire. Mary diverted her firing toward the gunners that were pinning him down. They stopped and he immediately got up and ran back to the first gun. She saw a flash of red hair underneath his helmet and realised that it was the Irish Sargent that she had met on the night of D-Day. Malarky she thought his name was.

"And I thought that the Scots were mad."

Winters soon came back with the man from A company that Mary had met that night. She was running a bit low on ammunition but still offered to take the next gun.

"Have you found a way to destroy the guns!" She shouted at Winters over the din of the battle.

"TNT and potato mashers!" Came the reply.

"That'll about do it." She mumbled as she followed Buck to capture the third gun.

This was done within a matter of seconds. It was not until later that Mary realised that the man from Able company, Hall, had not followed them. She stood behind the loading plate of the gun and fired out toward the rest of the enemy. The third gun was blown up and Mary moved round to take a look at a dugout set into the earth at the side of the trench.

"Hey Lieutenant! Take a look at this!" She held up some maps with the Nazi eagle and Swastika emblem. It showed the whole of Northern Normandy and various gun placements. Mary flashed him a quick grin. He quickly stuffed it into the front of his ODs and headed out.

Things got very interesting when Lieutenant Spiers showed up from the smoke of the battle, with a load of ammo, asking if his company could go for the next gun. Winters didn't seem to particularly mind at all.

Mary joined Winters and Buck as they watched the scene unfold.

D company, or what numbers had been assembled, moved down the trench. Enemy fire was directed toward them and Spiers quickly decided that being in a trench was a bit boring, so he leapt out of it and made his way toward the final gun along a grass verge. Shots were exchanged and they were soon greeted with the sight of a helmetless Spiers waving at them. It seemed as though he was the only one of his company who made it.

"This man has a death wish." Mary thought. But she couldn't help admiring him all the same.

"Oh Jesus." Was all that Buck could say on the matter.

Finally, the man of the hour arrived. After going to the first two guns and finding his services not required, Sargent Lipton was a bit peeved off to find that he was also not needed at the third gun.

"We're gonna need it at the next gun. Once that's done, tell them to pull out!" Winters told him. And Lipton was off.

Mary ran back, with Winters and Buck close behind. They told the men to fall back along the trench back to where they started the attack. The men ran out of the trench and back to the battalion CP.

* * *

><p>Winters gave Major Strayer a report on what happened. He then told them what could be used to properly capture the battery at Brecourt.<p>

"I think we might need artillery, or maybe mortars might do the job."

"We also found a map in one of the dugouts." Mary added. Winters handed the Major the map. "I didn't get a good look at it but the markings on it seem to be gun positions for most of northern France." Strayer nodded his thanks and they stopped at the road.

A load of tanks emblazoned with a white star rolled by. One of them stopped.

A man sitting on the front, with a dark mop of hair and grin plastered on his face called down to Winters;

"Going my way?"

"Sure." He threw his gun up to the waiting soldier and turned to Mary. "Do you need a lift?"

"Well, yes. I suppose."

Winters gave her a hand up and she soon found herself sitting between Winters and a man she had never met before.

"Nice ride you got here Nix."

"Straight from Utah beach. Best put them to work."

"Mary, this is Lewis Nixon. Battalion S2, and a good friend of mine."

"I didn't know you felt that way Dick." Nixon smiled and held out a his hand to shake. "You can call me Lew" Mary obliged him. "Now what is a pretty little thing like you doing in the middle of all this?"

Mary had spent the last three years dealing with German soldiers trying to flirt with her, So she found Lewis Nixon's cheeky attempts to be friendly quite amusing.

"I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." She smiled coyly.

He laughed at this and passed her his hip flask.

Mary opened it and sniffed it.

"Whiskey? You are now my favourite person in the whole world Lewis Nixon, just to let you know."

She took a swig and relished the feeling of the liquid burning down her throat. It had been too long since she had last tasted good whiskey.

"Well I'm inclined to like you too, you're the first woman that I have met who can actually stand the stuff."

Mary offered the flask to Winters but he declined.

"He doesn't drink." Nixon explained.

"Ah, well, all the more for me."

* * *

><p>They stopped off for an hour in the newly captured town of Saint-Marie-Du-Mont. Major Strayer was there and told Mary to rest and eat before she would join Easy Company to take the town of Culoville. She been posted with the Resistance in that town for a few days, so it was decided that she would be needed.<p>

Mary stepped out into the square and breathed in the night's air, contemplating where to get food from.

She was suddenly hailed by a voice that she had grown familiar of during the madness of the day.

"Hey, Miss Cooper!" Mary turned to see Guarnere beckoning her over to a few men getting into the back of a truck.

"Yes Sargent?"

"I just wanted to say miss ..." Guarnere scratched the back of his head and looked at his boots with a sheepish expression. "You did some pretty good fighting out there, and uh, I was wrong to not think you could handle all of this in the first place."

Mary couldn't help but warm to him after he said this. He seemed to be a proud man, and she knew that she must have made a pretty big impression in order to warrant an apology.

"Well, in order for me not to hold a grudge, you could tell me where to find some decent food, and call me Mary, none of this Miss Cooper nonsense, it makes me sound old."

Guarnere smirked at this. "Well miss, if you say so. And when it comes to food, it seems to be your lucky day. Because tonight you will be dining at the expense of Easy company, and your chef shall be none other, than our own technical Sargent, Donald Malarky." The ginger haired man that had nearly got himself killed earlier that day turned round at the sound of his name.

He was holding an ammunition box under his arm and grinning like an idiot. "Yes dear?"

"Malark, meet Mary Cooper."

"Pleased to meet you miss."

"Ah. Malarkey. I saw your suicidal run at Brecourt this morning. I was surprised, to say the least, and then I realised you were Irish. So it all made complete sense."

"I live to entertain." Was his smart reply. Mary could only laugh at him. It seemed the good spirit was infectious, these men lived close to death, all that they could do was laugh in the face of it.

Guarnere, Malarkey, Lipton, Toye, Mary, Buck and a few other men clambered into the back of one of the troop trucks. A brazier was soon lit and the ammunition box placed on top of it. Malarkey filled it with water, some of the K-ration pack that he had been given and other various things that he had managed to scrounge off the locals.

The at the back of the truck was pulled down to stop the Germans from seeing the light of the fire and the back of the truck became humid. Having had her first chance to relax for almost 24 hours, Mary removed her jacket and asked for a smoke.

A small thin looking man sitting opposite her tossed her a pack. "I'm Leibgott, by the way."

"Hey, don't try to flirt with her Leib, I've already called dibs." Malarkey half heartedly called out.

Mary lit up the cigarette and laughed along with the men.

"Ah don't get your hopes up Malark, I was the one who met her first." Guarnere piped up.

"Actually, I do have a tendency to go for red haired men. Probably the Scot in me coming out, but there you go." Some of the men chuckled at this. Buck seemed to be intrigued.

"So you're Scottish then?"

"Sort of. Half Scot, half Yank. My father is from Virginia, and my mother's family has been in the Highlands of Scotland for generations."

"How comes you speak with an English accent then?" Liebgott had now joined the conversation.

"Sent to a boarding school in Kent when I was 13. Taught to be a proper lady. But I can speak in a bit of a brogue if need be." She affected the accent and the rest of the men spent the next ten minutes asking her to say something, and then trying to decipher what she was saying from the accent.

Soon, whatever Malarkey was cooking, started to smell, really badly.

"Jesus Christ Malark, are you trying to kill us?" Toye complained loudly. The rest of them sniggered, but tried not to breathe in too deeply.

"You know, there was a dead dog in the middle of the square. It's not there any more. I wouldn't blame you, but did you ... ?" Mary left the question hanging.

Leibgott decided that he had had enough. "Get me out of here!" He lifted the flap and jumped out of the truck. Lipton called for light discipline and Mary could hear Guarnere mumbling about the "Krauts getting their own god-damned food" He turned to Malarkey. "How we doin' Malark?"

"We're doin' good." He set the ammunition box down and opened the lid. Buck peered inside and questioned;

"What do you know about cooking, you're Irish."

"Sir, if you have a reservation someplace else, I'll be happy to join you."

He started dolling out the stew, with a few muffled curses here and there. They were still chuckling over Malarkey's cooking when Winters popped his head under the flap.

"Did something die in here?"

"Yeah, Malarkey's ass." Came the reply. It seemed that none of the officers appreciated his cooking.

"Is there any word on Lieutenant Meehan yet sir?" Buck asked with a low voice. The answer was a resounding no. Not one man from Lieutenant Meehan's plane had been seen. The mood dimmed a little. They had lost good men when that plane went down. Toccoa men.

Guarnere spoke up. "Don't that make you our commanding officer sir?"

Winters just looked up at him. "Yeah, it does." Guarnere nodded at him.

To try to ease the mood, Toye offered the Lieutenant a bottle of wine given to them by the thankful populace of the town.

"Nah, Joe, the Lieutenant don't drink." Just to prove him wrong, Winters grabbed the bottle.

"It's been a day of firsts." He took a swig. Then regretted it as he grimaced and looked to the floor. He then composed himself and said "Don't you think Guarnere?" He handed him the bottle.

"Oh, and Sergeant. I'm not a Quaker."

As soon as Winters was out of earshot, the whole truck burst into laughter. Mary took the bottle from Gaurnere, who was saying something about Mennonites, and drunk a large gulp.

Toye looked at her concerned. "Are you sure you can handle that stuff?"

"Of course." She replied, wiping her mouth with the sleeve of her blouse. "I've been practically living off this stuff for three years."

It was going to be a long war. But Mary was grateful that she would not be living through it alone, it seemed that some of the men of Easy Company had accepted her. She was on her way to a normal life.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the lateness of this, things have been pretty hectic. But it is now the Christmas holidays, so consider this your present. Remember to Review my dears!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Zim zam God damn she's bloody SOE**

**A/N:** Anything in italics is either a flashback, or something said in French or some other language apart from English. Once again, I do not own Band of Brothers, nor do I wish to offend or tarnish the memories of any of the war veterans. I simply wish to tell the tale of the war through the eyes of my own character.

* * *

><p><em>... She was on her way to a normal life ...<em>

**Carentan**

**Northern France, May, 1941. 0100 hours.**

_Mary sat nervously on the bench at the back of the plane. The roar of the engines made it difficult to get any sleep and they had been flying for a while since they had left the airfield in Duxford. The Halifax bomber hit a bit of turbulence and Mary grabbed out to the person sitting next to her. Phillip seemed concerned and shouted into her ear over the din "Are you alright?"_

"_I'm fine." She countered. But did not let go of him. He gave her a smile and squeezed her hand, and carried on holding it. A comfortable silence enveloped them for the rest of the journey._

_But before long, a red light flickered on, indicating that it would not be long before they had to jump. Both Mary and Phillip stood up and made their way to the door. They hooked up, and Mary looked out of the door on the side of the modified Halifax. Beneath them was the expanse of northern France, fields divided into an almost patchwork pattern, and she would be jumping into it._

_The red light turned green. Mary put both her hands on either side of the door, took a deep breath, then jumped._

_She was only free falling for a few seconds before the canopy of her camouflaged parachute opened, but it was the most exhilarating experience she had ever had. When she had collected her thoughts, she took a hold of the risers and guided herself toward a nearby field. She stole a glance above her, and saw that Philip was safely floating down in the same direction that she was going in._

_She was winded slightly as she landed in the field of hay. The tall grass reached up to nearly her shoulder. A small thump and stifled groan not too far to her left told her that Phillip had also landed safely. _

_They quickly gathered up their parachutes and ran toward a nearby copse of trees. It was late and they were in the middle of nowhere, but they could not be too careful. There was always a danger of running into a German patrol. _

_When they reached the trees, Mary and Phillip stopped for a moment to catch their breath. _

_The sound of rustling footsteps in the undergrowth quickly alerted the two that someone was approaching. Phillip pulled out a trench knife from the holster on his leg and nodded to Mary. She returned the gesture and made ready to pounce._

_A tall figure crept through a hedge and came face to face with a vicious looking knife, he turned to run but found his path blocked by Mary. _

_He held his hands up and whispered in broken English "I no German."_

_Mary exchanged a glance with Phillip. "Resistance?"_

"_Oui." Came the quick reply. _

_Phillip lowered the knife and the Frenchman relaxed. But the spies were still not convinced._

"_Comment vous appelez vous?"_

"_Pierre Delacroix."_

_Mary turned to her fellow Englishman. "That is the name of the person we were to meet, and we did land in the right area."_

_Phillip considered for a moment, then grunted in approval._

_The Frenchman smiled, obviously glad that the two spies had decided not to kill him. He gestured the direction they were going and murmured "Allons-y."_

* * *

><p><strong>Normandy, 8th June, 1944.<strong>

It had been a tiring two days for Mary. Her involvement with the invasion was simple, scout ahead for the 506, report back, link up with any Resistance fighters on the way, and relay any useful information to the officers.

Of course, it was never as simple as that. In the areas of the Carentan Peninsula that were still occupied by the German forces, troop movement had heavily increased and it was much more difficult to roam around without being detected. She managed it of course, but two days of being on constant alert was wearing down on her. So she was glad when she finally came to a small town, recently devoid of its occupiers as the Germans had retreated, and looked forward to meeting with some of the friendly locals and picking up some equipment she had stowed away.

She entered the town just as the first rays of dawn were glimmering on the horizon. Quickly crossing the main street, she ran down an alleyway that led to the back of the Bakery. She knew that the proprietor was awake, as demanded his profession, and that he would be more than happy to help her.

Mary smartly rapped on the back door and waited. Movement was heard inside and the door was opened by a young man in his late teens.

"Marc."

"Marie." She winced at the variation of her name given to her by the French, but gave a small smile as she was ushered in.

A man was working at the huge table kneading dough as she came into the sweltering kitchen. He was just as she remembered him. Middling height, slightly portly, red faced, balding and covered in flour. But he was one of the few men she trusted on Northern France. He looked up startled as she said nonchalantly;

"_Bon matin Gaston."_

"_Marie! It is so good to see you! It has been such a long time!" _He pulled her into a tight bear hug, his son looking on in amusement.

"_I heard that the Americans were coming from the Resistance, but I did not believe it. All of the phone lines are down, we have not had any news form the North for two days. Now you are here, so it must be true."_

"_Oui Gaston, the Americans will be here by mid morning. But I am not here to deliver news."_

"_Ah! Of course, your things. We did not move them, as promised." _He turned to leave the kitchen whilst yelling at Marc to carry on working.

"_Still treating your son like a slave?"_

"_He is my son, of course he is my slave."_

Mary could not help but chuckle. Gaston's enthusiastic nature could not be dimmed, even during times of war. In fact, he used it to great effect, secretly helping various members of the Resistance and spies such as Mary, whilst placating the German occupiers (and sometimes slipping small amounts of diarrhoea inducing paraffin into the loaves of bread he was forced to give up.)

They moved up the narrow stairs, and into a small cramped guest room. Then pulled up a few loose floorboards and fished out a neatly packed rucksack.

"_Merci beaucoup Gaston." _

"_Mon plaisir, mademoiselle."_ Effecting a small bow. Mary snorted with laughter as he straightened up. With a slight frown on his face he said;

"_Where is Phillip, I thought you travelled together?"_

At the sound of that name Mary froze. _Phillip_. She had not uttered that name for months. Only in recurring nightmares would she cry out his name in anguish, waking with tears spilling down her cheeks. She had kept herself busy, never staying in the same place for more than a week, to try and keep her mind occupied. It was only at night that she let her feelings take control, that she took down the wall in her mind and allow the grief to overcome her.

Gaston realised he had said the wrong thing when her expression turned from shock, to pain. He quickly came to the right conclusion as to what had transpired.

"_Je suis vraiment désolé."_

Mary quickly regained her composure. _"Merci."_ She said shortly. Forcing herself to move, she trudged down the stairs. Leaving Gaston behind to worry about the young woman. His heart went out to her.

Mary walked back into the kitchen and heavily sat down on a chair. Marc looked up from his work.

"_You have changed Marie." _That was Marc all over, blunt and to the point.

"_Haven't we all?" _

There wasn't much Marc could say to that. He was an extreme contrast to his father. Whereas Gaston was enthusiastic and loud, Marc was solitary and quiet. They also differed in appearance, apparently resembling more closely his Parisian mother, with his tall stature, dark hair and strong features. But his guarded nature was not just a trait of his character. He was also deeply frustrated, Mary had come to see that during her brief stays over the years. He had lost his older brother, and only sibling, shortly after Germany had invaded France, in one of the many battles as the French Army were retreating. Marc, being too young at the time for conscription, had survived the invasion, but always felt a certain guilt for not being able to fight alongside his brother. He had also had to contend with the early death of his mother, not long after his own brother's demise. She had collapsed when finding out the news, and never recovered. Gaston had managed to pull through, as was his nature, but these events had prompted Marc to ruthlessly hate the Germans, and he festered a burning desire to destroy them. But, his father had forbidden him to join the Resistance, therefore embittering Marc even more.

Watching the surly teen work, made Mary realise that the war had affected all those that it touched, and just wished that it could all be over.

* * *

><p>The sun rose as it did every day, and would do so the next, no matter what mankind did upon the face of the earth.<p>

Mary had gone out earlier to tell Winters that the town has free of enemy soldiers, and then sauntered back to the Bakery, giving her time to think.

As the morning went on, the town soon filled with American troops. They mainly sat around, talked, smoked, some sharing "spoils of war" that they had picked up on their travels.

With all of the activity, Mary's mood lightened slightly. She was content to watch events going on around her from a sunny perch on the pavement. That is, until someone walked up and blocked the view.

"Urr ... Bonjour mademoiselle."

Mary slowly looked up to connect the American voice to its owner. The soldier looking down at her was in his early twenties, with brown hair and had a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. She registered this, put two and two together, and realised that he thought she was a civilian, and was attempting to flirt. She of course, couldn't help but string him along for a bit.

Looking coyly up at him through her eyelashes she replied _"Bonjour monsieur."_

His face immediately lit up. He plonked himself down beside her and held out his had.

"George Luz"

"Marie." She said as she shook his hand. But he wasn't done. Before she had a chance to let go, he had charmingly brought up her had to his lips, and gently kissed her knuckles.

Going with the act, she feigned being coquettish, and giggled slightly. He quickly smirked, and offered her a cigarette. She took it from his hand delicately and took a long drag after Luz had lit it. She had to stifle her laughter as he went nearly cross eyed at the sight of her inhaling the smoke. His eyes transfixed on her lips. He was rudely interrupted when a certain Irish Sargent walked over and said;

"Hey Luz! What are you doing with Miss Cooper? Can't keep her all to yourself you know, there are other men here too!"

Unable to hold her amusement in any longer, Mary quickly stood up and leant against the wall, silent laughter incapacitating her.

"What the hell?"

"I'm sorry Mr Luz ... But I might have taken advantage of your flirting in order to get my daily dose of nicotine, force of habit I'm afraid."

Luz was gaping like a fish, Malarkey was finding it difficult to keep a straight face.

"Maybe I should reintroduce myself." She held out her hand, just as he had done. "Mary Cooper, British Intelligence."

The man looked wary for a moment, then flashed his trademark grin and replied with;

"George Luz, average intelligence."

Mary rolled her eyes as they shook hands for the second time in five minutes. "I take this is another man from Easy Company?" She asked a very amused Sargent.

"Yeah. George Luz, Company funnyman, and general sleaze."

"Hey!"

"I'm just sayin', the way you were watchin' her just now, you were practically comatose."

Malarkey had to quickly dodge a smack to the head as Luz started chasing him around the square.

"Miss Cooper!"

Said woman wheeled round toward the voice that had called her name, it was Winters, standing next to him was another officer. He was about a head shorter, and was nursing a canteen that she suspected did not contain water.

She wandered over and grinned inwardly. This was a day of many new faces and introductions, such were the pleasantries of war.

"The name is Harry Welsh."

It seemed to Mary that all American soldiers were cocky, and slightly charming. No wonder all of her fellow WAAFs back in England giggled over them like teenagers.

"Pleased to meet you."

"Welsh here is First platoon CO."

Mary looked at all of the men assembled, various different companies within the 506.

"I take it your mission is to secure Carentan."

Both men looked puzzled, none of them had told her that, and she had not reported to Major Strayer yet.

"I only assumed that, because it is where most of the main roads in this area converge, meaning it is a vital supply line for both you lot." She gestured to the soldiers. "And the Germans."

"You assume correctly. What details do you have of the defences around the town?"

She thought for a moment. "Let's see. Occupied by Fallschirmjäger, paratroopers to you and me. Not many additional fortifications built up, they mainly used the houses as posts for soldiers and equipment. I know that because I had to listen to an irate Frenchwoman grumble about being shoved out of her own home for two hours."

Walsh smirked at that. He had noticed how patriotic some of the locals could be.

"What about numbers?" Winters asked.

"No idea. Could be a company, could be a battalion for all I know. The longer this invasion goes on for, the less I know about troop movement. Any routine or pattern that I noted is practically useless due to the amount of reinforcements being brought in."

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Thanks. I'll relay that to the major."

"Glad to be of help."

* * *

><p>Mary decided that she wasn't suited for the life of an ordinary soldier. She couldn't stand waiting. The men seemed to be fine with it. Sauntering about the town, talking to the locals, taking the piss out of each other. She could hardly relax, knowing that they would be going into action. She was coiled up like a spring, tired of being idle and restless to get going.<p>

Finally, Welsh gave the orders to move out.

"Easy's movin' out! On your feet!" The once relaxed men quickly got up and assembled. "Listen up! It'll be dark soon, I want light and noise discipline from here on. No talking, no smoking, no playing grab fanny with the man in front of you Luz."

One of the men asked where they were going.

"We're taking Carentan." Was the short answer.

"Sounds like fun." Came one snarky reply.

"It's the only place where armour from Omaha and Utah Beach can link up head inland. Until we take Carentan, they're stuck. Taylor's sending the whole Division."

Welsh ordered them to fall in behind Fox Company, and they were on their way.

Mary started walking with Malarkey and Luz, the latter of whom had been half-heartedly told to "shut up" after doing an impression of Sink.

* * *

><p>They marched on through the day and into the night. Only stopping to refill canteens and answer the call of nature. Mary felt lucky that she only had a light pack to carry, whereas the bags that the paratroopers had on their backs weighed nearly as much as she did.<p>

They walked past the pretty gruesome sight of burnt out German vehicles, their occupants lying motionless on the ground. Spilt petrol was burning and sent stinging fumes into the eyes of the passing soldiers. However, instead of carrying on, they were told to stop. Mary had, at this point, caught up with Winters and crept up the line with him to see what was holding them up.

They had lost F Company for the third time that evening. Both Welsh and Winters were losing their patience, with Mary and Nixon looking on with guarded amusement. It seemed that both officers were eager to get into action, instead of just trudging around half of France, they could sense that the men were getting restless.

It was taking longer than expected to find F Company, so Winters, Nixon and Mary went up ahead to find them.

They soon came across Blithe, looking spooked as he regarded a dead German soldier. It seemed that Blithe was returning to Easy to tell them that they had found Fox Company.

Nixon saw the dead body, and explained what Mary already knew, that paratroopers held Carentan. Blithe fingered a small flower in the button hole of the demised soldier.

"That's edelweiss." Nix explained. "That only grows in the Alps above the tree line. Which means that he climbed up there to get it. It is supposed to be the mark of a true soldier."

* * *

><p><strong>Carentan, 12th June. 1944.<strong>

After 4 days of marching, reconnaissance and preparation. They were finally ready to take the town of Carentan.

Mary had been instructed not to go directly into the battle, but had fought her corner and was then allowed to take part in the attack, so long as she stayed with one of the officers. So, Winters had told her to stay with Welsh.

After peeking over the crest of the hill that they were situated on, Winters gave Welsh the order to take First Platoon down the road and into the centre of the town. He quickly complied. Leading them down the hill and into German fire. Windows of the houses suddenly came alive with enemy fire. Most of First Platoon dove into ditches, apart from Welsh, Luz and Mary who were at the front of the advance, much to Winter's consternation.

The three quickly dove behind a small building opposite the café that seemed to be causing the most trouble. Catching her breath, Mary looked back to the road that they had just run down. They had sustained some casualties, the rest of the men had taken cover in the drainage ditches at the side of the road. Winters was trying desperately to get them moving.

"Goddamn it!"

"Where the fuck is everybody!" Welsh yelled at Luz. "Where did everybody go?"

Luz took a few pot shots in the direction of the café, then turned round. "I have no idea!"

Welsh turned to Mary. "You alright?"

She nodded grimly, worried that her voice would betray her true feelings. She had been under fire before, but not with such intensity. Fear was overtaking her and she had to get control.

Mary edged round the side of the building to try and pinpoint exactly where the intense resistance was coming from, and got a spurt of machine gun fire in her direction for all of her efforts.

Realising the fact that there was no way that she could move forward, Mary turned back to see how the rest of Easy were faring trying to get over the hill.

What she saw, was completely astounding.

Winters was running from one ditch to the next, shoving, kicking and shouting at his men to get them moving. He even took off his protective helmet for good measure, his ginger hair making him the perfect target for any sniper.

In response to this, the men finally got up, and went about their respective tasks, splitting off around the side of the road to enter the town through one of the side streets.

One of the men threw a grenade that landed just short of one of the café's windows, spraying Mary, Luz and Welsh with debris.

Soon after, Welsh decided that he had had enough of being pinned down, he signalled to the gunners on the hill to stop firing and asked Luz and Mary to provide covering fire.

"Ready?"

They nodded. He pulled a pin on a grenade and said; "Okay, I'm out." Both Luz and Mary started firing at the cafe. He then preceded to run toward the remaining machine gun, and lob the grenade through the window. The loud explosion that soon followed quickly silenced the MG-42.

Lipton's men quickly moved to secure the area that was no longer under fire.

Mary quickly ran over to Welsh, who was ordering the men to start clearing each house. She leant against a door frame for a while to catch her breath.

But she did not have long to relax as explosions started going off around the main street. The Germans had zeroed the Americans and were using heavy armaments to try and obliterate them. Lipton was yelling at them all to spread out. So spread out she did. Lipton ran out into the street, and was directing them all to cover, until the Germans fired again and he was flung back against a wall.

Lipton was bloodied and dazed. Talbert ran over to see if he was alright. Inspected his wounds. Then helped him up.

From her position, she could see a three German soldiers running away, so lifting up her rifle, she shot each one of them. As she pulled the trigger she murmured to herself "This is for Gaston." One was down. "This is for his eldest son." The second also fell. "And this is for Phillip." As the last one fell, she felt a sense of relief. Somehow, she thought, she had avenged them. Now it was back to the business of war, no time for selfishness.

She had, at this point, lost all sight of Welsh. So, seeing a familiar figure crouching behind a pillar, she joined Malarkey and Muck.

They were looking on as a padre was giving the last rights to the dead, as the Germans were firing.

"Crazy fools the Irish." Malarkey concluded.

"You should know." Muck replied.

Most of the German forces within the town were retreating, the gunners taking care of them. The men seemed pretty pleased with themselves, the fight had not been too long, yet the Germans seemed to have almost given up.

But Mary wasn't so sure. There were nowhere near the number of soldiers placed in Carentan as she thought there should have been. Still, she conceded, at least they were gone, for now. As the fighting eased off and any remaining resistance was quieted, Mary sat down on a pile of rubble, pushed her borrowed helmet up, wiped her damp brow, and opened up a pack of Lucky Strikes that she had stolen from Luz.

As the lit up, she observed the wounded being rounded up and sent to the newly set up aid station, and spied Major Strayer crossing the street.

She picked up her things and quickly ran over to him.

"Sir!" She called out.

"Yes, Miss Cooper?" She faltered a bit, his tone was one of someone who didn't think he had the time to listen to her. She took a quick drag of the cigarette.

"Sir." She repeated as she blew out the smoke. " I've been thinking, from what I saw of the battle, and the numbers of enemy forces involved against us. I think they let us take the town."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that, I think they left this place undermanned in order to lead us into a trap."

"So you think that they are trying to hole us up here and counter attack."

She took another drag, this time longer."Yes Sir."

"Thank you." He said after a short time. "I may need to consult you later as regards to where you think the enemy may attack us from."

"I'll be happy to help in any way I can."

She followed him to a nearby jeep where a map was spread across the bonnet.

Winters was standing there along with the commanding officers of most of the other companies. He looked as though he was in pain. Mary sent a questioning glance his way, but he shook his head slightly as if to say "don't worry, I'm alright."

She turned her attention to the map.

"So, Miss Cooper." The Major started. "Where do you think is the most likely direction in which the Germans will attack from?"

All eyes were on her. Not all of the officers had yet found out that their intelligence liaison was a woman.

"All of this area is flooded fields." She pointed to a part of the map with the cigarette in her hand. "So the obvious place that the Germans would attack from is the east. So you should set up a defensive position there."

"We came to that conclusion ourselves Miss, but thank you for your input anyway." Mary decided that she was taking a dislike to Major Strayer the longer she was around him, but knew that making a fuss would do absolutely nothing. She glowered at him and inhaled more cigarette smoke, willing the toxic blend of chemicals to calm her down.

The Major turned to Winters and the D Company CO.

"You two, I want Easy and Dog company to set up that defensive position. Move out within the hour."

"Yes Sir."

The Major nodded to the rest of the assembled officers, and then left. Most of the officers gave Mary odd looks, as if to see if she would react to the Major's words now that he wasn't there. Instead, she focused her attention to Winters.

"Come on, I'm taking you to the aid station."

"I don't need ..."

"No." She cut him off. "You are not putting any weight on your left leg, and are wincing, so you must be hurt." Winters made to argue again. "Do not argue with me, what use is a commanding officer if he can't walk?" She took one last drag, and threw the cigarette to the floor, stamping on it as she did so.

Winters gave up and allowed her to lead him to the aid station.

"I value your presence here you know. So do most of the men." He said in an effort to improve her mood.

Mary smiled lightly. "Then that is all the approval I need."

After depositing the Lieutenant with Eugene Roe, She set off to relax and find some familiar faces, who wouldn't be judgemental. Seeing Malarkey's ginger head in the distance, she leisurely walked in that general direction.

As she approached the group of men, she watched as Lieutenant Speirs walked away from them, but turned round as one of the men shouted out;

"Don't they know we're just getting settled here?"

Speirs simply replied with a stare that would stop a charging rhino it its tracks.

He nodded to her as he stalked off. "Cooper."

"Lieutenant."

Mary gave a confused smile to Malarkey as she sat down. "What on earth was that about?" She thought.

"Nice Groucho." Muck reprimanded Moore.

"What?" He replied.

"Real smart. You know you're taking you life in your own hands." Muck nodded to Malarkey. "Ain't that right?"

"I told you." Malarkey said. "I didn't actually see it."

"What?" Penkala chipped in. "Speirs shooting the prisoners, or the Sargent in his own platoon?"

"Pardon?" Mary exclaimed. She could understand shooting men in cold blood whilst doing covert work, but one of his own men?

The other men also expressed disbelief.

Penkala allowed them to calm down before explaining. "Supposedly, the guy was drunk and refused to go out on a patrol." The others regarded this information for a while. "So who knows if it's true?"

Muck piped up again. "Well I know a guy." He said throwing a pebble at Malarkey. "Who said an eyewitness told him, that Speirs hosed those prisoners."

"Why? What for?"

"On D-Day." Muck continued. "Speirs comes across this group of Kraut prisoners, diggin' a hole or some such, under guard and all. He breaks out a pack of smokes, passes them out. Even gives 'em a light. Then, all of a sudden, he swings up his Thompson and ..." He mimed the motion of a firing gun. "... He hoses 'em."

The men exchanged glances. Mary feigned indifference, but still listened in. After seeing his actions in Brecourt, Mary had become slightly fascinated by the mysterious officer, and wanted to know more about him.

"I mean Goddamn! He gives 'em smokes first?" Muck pondered, taking a drag of a cigarette. "You see, that's why, I don't believe he really did it."

"Oh, you don't believe it?" Malarkey questioned.

"I heard he didn't." Penkala said.

"No no no, it was him alright." Moore decided to join the conversation again. "But it was more than eight guys, more like twenty."

Mary couldn't help but snort at the over reactive imagination of soldiers. The way that rumors could be blown out of proportion.

"Hell of a shot." Muck said nonchalantly.

Moore lent back on the pavement. "All except for one guy, who he left alone."

"Well all I know, from what I heard, he took that last 105 on D-Day practically by himself. Running through MG fire like a maniac." Penkala surmised.

Malarkey nodded. "Now that I did see."

"On his own?" Moore countered.

"Yep."

"I don't care if any of the other stuff is true." Penkala gestured for greater effect.

"Hey Albert." Muck threw a pebble at him. "What do you think?"

"I dunno." Was his reply. "You don't have to take everybody's word for it all the time."

"What about you Cooper?" Malarkey turned to the woman.

She thought a moment. "I can attest to his actions at Brecourt, he did take that last gun, even jumped out of the trench to avoid the MG fire."

"And?" Moore prompted.

"As for shooting prisoners? Well, I didn't see it. Neither Battalion or Regiment have called him up for it. So, lets just leave it be."

Moore was ready to further question the intelligence officer, but didn't have a chance to, as Welsh started calling on First Platoon to move out.

Mary bid the men farewell, and went off to find Winters.

* * *

><p>Not soon after they started marching toward the planned position, rain started pouring. This did not help to bring the men into a better mood. They had been fighting for nearly a week, and still had not been relieved. Strains were starting to show.<p>

Any semblance of calm was broken as they reached the position. It seemed that the Germans had envisioned their plans, and had set up their own defence in an opposite hedgerow. Now, Easy Company were being fired upon.

The officers were yelling at the men to get to the hedgerow and find cover. Mary sprinted toward a ditch with a tree and a few bushes obscuring her from sight of the enemy. She flung herself onto the ground and crawled into the ditch. Slightly peeking through one of the bushes, Mary could see the German's positions.

"So that's where Jerry is hiding." She mumbled.

Turning round she saw that Winters and Welsh had joined her. "It seems we are in for a long day ahead of us gentlemen."

* * *

><p><strong>Next time ... Edelweiss. <strong>

**Sorry for the gap in uploading, things have been mad, and this chapter was a monster to write. Anyway, enjoy, and review. I am anxious to hear your thoughts on this fic.**


End file.
